Read Manal’s Story here at Asian Mums Network

Manal’s Story

Manal stopped going to school in Syria when 11 of her classmates were killed trying to move a bomb they found in the schoolyard. Soon after, her family fled to a refugee camp in Jordan. Her father wanted her to marry an older man, believing this would keep his daughter safe from violence and other dangers. She was only 16.

Manal enrolled in a Unicef-supported school, and with counselling, she realised marriage wasn’t her
only option. “Knowledge is important. We’re in a war situation, it’s not stable now so we need information, that’s why I decided to continue my education,” she said. Manal eventually convinced her father to let her stay in school so that she could fulfil her hopes to become a teacher or a doctor. “Sometimes when I’m alone I feel scared and ask myself whether my decision is right,” she said, “but I know I am on the right path.”